By Paddy Walsh
THEY lined the wall up in traditional formation.
And there at the centre of it, the big man – even Jimmy Kelly wouldn’t have got by him in his playing days.
But they weren’t there as shot stoppers on this occasion – instead the phone cameras were capturing the moment as Colm McDaid handed over a framed copy of the poem he had written in honour of Finn Harps stalwart, Jim Sheridan.
There too in the line-up, another ex-Harps player who stopped many a shot in his day including the one that Sheridan insisted had been the catalyst that had helped the Donegal club to ultimately claim the F.A.I. Cup in 1974.
Goalkeeping legend, Gerry Murray had arrived for the presentation in the company of founding member and long time Harps manager, Patsy McGowan – Dillons Hotel on Letterkenny’s Main Street hosting the auspicious gathering that had been organised by the local Community Heritage Group led by its chairperson and football fanatic, Johnny Joe McCollum.
“Many’s a team ran up against a wall we called him Big Jim,” one of the lines in Colm’s poetic tribute summed up the influence of the Rathmullan man.
It was an occasion also to remember characters and personalities that had graced Finn Park back in the day – Big Jim recalling the groundsman at the time, Willie Gillespie who, he said, had penned a poem that featured on the back of a Harps programme.
And that Murray save? It had come in the quarter-final of the F.A.I. Cup at Dalymount Park against Bohemians in that ’74 season.
“It was a brilliant save – had that goal gone in we were out of the Cup,” Jim maintained.
Reflecting back on his career with Harps, he was insistent: “Not too many teams in Ireland had a panel like ours.
“And they were all great fellows – every one of them I wouldn’t have a bad word to say about any of them.” And they about him.
Johnny Joe then referred to Jimmy Kelly who had played with Derry City. “He was from Ballybofey and was a great kicker of a ball. But you don’t hear too much about him.”
Kelly featured in a select side that beat the English League 3-2 – the Twin Towns ace netting all three goals. “Liverpool wanted to buy him for £12,000 but the supporters in Derry would have thrown the directors out had they let him go,” Johnny declared.
Gerry and Patsy knew exactly who he was talking about – revealing that he had lived in Navenny Street. A true local hero.
And Navenny Street was where the hordes of Harps fans would amble along to Finn Park on a Sunday afternoon to watch their favourites in action.
Johnny Joe recalled an occasion when Brian McEniff and Martin McHugh had been involved in a match at MacCumhaill Park where the attendance had totalled around 200. “They decided to make their way over to Finn Park after their game was over to find a crowd of up to 4,000 cheering on the home team. ‘What are we doing wrong?’ McHugh was reputed to have asked.
“Aye, we had serious crowds back then,” Jim remarked. “But there was little opposition when it came to TV. There was no Sky Sports showing games those days,”
He highlighted another line from Colm’s poem: “He fought in defending the honour of the Harps with blood, sweat and tears.
“That was true for the whole team – though there wasn’t too much of the blood thankfully,” said Jim.
Patsy McGowan also lauded the influence of Jim Sheridan in the team he, McGowan, had built from nothing.
“There were very genuine people involved with Harps at the time, men like Tom Furlong, Victor Fisher and Johnny Gallagher. They were there from the very beginning and made a massive contribution.”
He remembered meeting Patsy McGonagle in Stranorlar one day as the latter prepared to develop Finn Valley Athletic Club. “You’re taking on a lot there,” I told him.”
The conversation brought up the possibility of a merger between Harps and the Athletic Club with the suggestion that a running track could be laid around Finn Park.
According to McGowan, the issue was brought to the next meeting of the Finn Harps board but all 15 in attendance turned the proposal down.
Finn Harps stalwart, Jim Sheridan, pictured with the framed poem that was presented to him by Colm McDaid on behalf of the Letterkenny Community Heritage Group.
Meanwhile, Colm McDaid, who has collected a lot of material associated with Harps over the years, referred to the famous Panini football sticker album which back in 1979 featured, for the only time ever, a photograph of Finn Harps! And he has three of those rare stickers at his home to prove it. “They’re like hen’s teeth now,” he proclaimed.
Johnny Joe remembered when he was doing painting work at the old swimming pool in Letterkenny and got chatting to an electrician, Maurice Swan, who could name Harps and a host of other clubs, both here and in England, in his time as a goalkeeper.
Not alone that but the Dubliner’s career as an electrician saw him working on film and television sets including that of Father Ted!
Colm’s poem, meanwhile, concluded:
“A loyal servant to soccer, a man who loved the game
“A reason in 2015 he entered the Donegal Sports Star Hall of Fame
“His boots are now long hung up, his civic Garda duty done
But we will not forget the name Jim Sheridan, a proud Rathmullan son.”
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